3 Westchester Men Among 8 Charged By Feds In Multimillion-Dollar Bank Fraud Case

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Federal prosecutors have charged eight people, including two Mount Vernon residents and one Yonkers resident, in what the U.S. Attorney's Office described as a multimillion-dollar bank fraud scheme that used social media to recruit participants and access bank accounts.

The charges were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. An indictment was unsealed charging Jeshon Bingham, also known as "Jay" and "Glizzy," Rupertt Sherrir, also known as "Rupert Sherrier," "RJ," and "Mr. Bag Different," Floyd Forrest, Reheem Anderson, Mikhail Davis, Juzan Spence, Chavaughn Boothe and Michelle Hylton with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Subscribe

"Bad actors are increasingly seeking to abuse technology platforms—here social media platforms—to commit fraud," U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said. "Our Office is committed to using every prosecutorial tool to root out this type of fraud. The defendants here allegedly sought to use social media platforms to recruit members of the conspiracy and victims, and misused those platforms to facilitate the multi-million-dollar fraud. They will now be forced to answer these charges in court."

Seven defendants were expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause. The office said Anderson will be arraigned at a later date.

According to the indictment, the scheme started 2022 and continued through the date the indictment was filed. Prosecutors said the defendants, together with others, defrauded national financial institutions of millions of dollars. The indictment says the group recruited people over social media and by other means to give members of the conspiracy access to their bank accounts.

Prosecutors say the defendants then used those accounts to deposit fraudulent financial instruments, including checks and U.S. treasury notes, and withdrew funds before banks could determine the instruments were counterfeit. The charges contend that the group discussed the scheme on social media and messaging applications, sharing pictures of fraudulent checks, bank branch locations and the personal identifying information of others.

"These defendants allegedly executed a calculated fraud scheme that caused substantial losses to financial institutions nationwide," FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said. "Their actions were unlawful, and the FBI will never tolerate attacks on the integrity of our financial system."

The defendants are Bingham, 24, of the Bronx; Sherrir, 26, of the Bronx; Forrest, 27, of Mount Vernon; Anderson, 23, of Mount Vernon; Davis, 31, of the Bronx; Spence, 31, of the Bronx; Boothe, 32, of Yonkers; and Hylton, 33, of the Bronx. Each is charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

"These arrests underscore the importance of collaboration among our law enforcement partners and highlight the growing prevalence and calculated deception associated with financial crimes, which are far from victimless offenses," Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said. "I'm proud of the work of my Criminal Investigators Squad throughout this complex investigation, which was made possible, in part, by the diligence of Mount Vernon police officers and New York State Police troopers. We remain committed to working alongside our local, state, and federal partners, including the FBI's Westchester Safe Streets Task Force, to identity, investigate, and prosecute criminals who disregard the law and exploit others for financial gain."

The case is being handled by the office's White Plains Division.